According to Waste Management press release, this announcement marks the beginning of the company’s program to build a “green fleet” to serve the Lower Mainland, which includes the region surrounding Vancouver (British Columbia). This program will also help contribute to Waste Management’s sustainability aim of reducing fleet emissions by 15 per cent and increasing fuel efficiency by 15 per cent by 2020.
“We understand that clean air is critically important to our community and provincial partners in B.C.,” said Rob Sherman, director of operations for Waste Management Pacific Northwest, who also added his company has 930 natural gas trucks in its North American fleet of more than 20,000 vehicles, and is firmly moving to put more in operation as conventional diesel trucks are retired.
It is worth mentioning that the Terasen Gas’s contribution is from their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program. Moreover, this company is planning to get approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to install a CNG fuelling station at Waste Management’s site to serve local vehicles.
“We are working to facilitate the use of natural gas, traditional low-carbon energy, in new ways within B.C. This collaboration with Waste Management of Canada Corporation is one of the first steps towards achieving this goal,” explained Doug Stout, vice president of energy solutions and external relations at Terasen Gas.